Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-01-14
ORovILLE, BUTTE Co. CAL,
New Years Day, 1887.

| New Years Day, 1887.
| To the Editor of the Kenne5ee Jou, nal:
To-day is a legal holiday in California, and
| cannot f0reg0 the opportunity Of telling the
friends Of my younger days something Of this
far western place.
Butte county is between SO degrees and 40
degrees north latitude in the Sacramento
Valley, about 200 miles northwest of San
! Francisco. II is bounded by the SACRAMENTO
river on the west ard the summit of the
| Sierra Nevada mountains on the east ano
therefore, contains three grads of land
the valley, foothill and the mountains. The
| first il considered the best grain growing land
| in the world. The ground is pl0wed IN March
and April. and suwn in October and Novem-
Der. The heavy rains follow in December.
January. February and March. and the grain
| 10 fit for harvest by the first of July. To one
who has farmed In Main It IL grand sight
| to see the harvesting outfit. The reader will
| rec0llect that we have no rain here from May
till December, and the fields become very
drv aud parched. The harvesting is done
with the combined header and harvester,
which moves TO the field pushed by team of
| from l6 to "a head of mules or horses, and
| operated by five men la front the grain
falls before the keen sickle, while at the side,
just away from the tramping horses, falls the
wnll-filled sacks of grain, every kernel OF
which is AZ hard as flint. The lands on which
grain is raised command from $40 To 800
per acre. The ranches number from l6O to
| &c, 900 acres each.
The FOpTHILLs
Extend from III. east edge of this valley
towards the Sierra Nevada until they reach
| 4, I,
county abounds in good paying gold mines.
| But within the past two years they have
proved to he of great value for fruit growing
purposes am writing this in my Office at
noon on New Years Day. The thermometer
was 80 degrees above zero at sunrise, and is
now CA degrees. Within half a dozen rods
| from wher- | write are number of orange
trees, heavily laden with their goldea fruit,
now ripe and sweet and luscious. In almost
every door-vsrd in Oroville are from one to a
dczen orange, lemon, fig, olive and persim-
! mon irees, all heavily laden with fruit These
/ trees were set out few years ago tor orna-
mental purposes, and the inhabitants were
greatly astonished some three year. ago to
| find them all in blossom, and later on filed
with delicious fruit A citrus fair wa.
held in Sacramento City and San francisco
| in January, 1886 in which all the counties in
Northern California contested for the prize.
Butte county won it, The display of fruits.
such as | have named above. WAS marvellous.
There were bushels of the finest oranges and
lemons that were ever raised on this coast.
Another fair has Just been held in Sscramen-
to, and ia now on exhibition in Chicago. H.,
and is attracting great attention. Formerly
| it was supposed that such fruits could be
raised only in the southern part of this STATE,
hnF no fair haya hp he
orange, lemon, fig, grape and nut land Is to
be found in this region. Within one mile OF
where | am now writing is grove of orange
trees numbering 81 acres, and an addition Of
| 80 acres will be made in q few months
| There are many small orchards of an scra OF
more, containing 100 trees and upwards. Six
miles east | have 20 acres of olive trees. and
shall plant ten acres more this month. There
is much land within the foothil belt am now
speaking of. that yet belongs to the govern
meut, and can be taken up by persons quail.
fed to preempt or homestead lands. Las,
night young lady, born in Massachusetts
but who came here from ST. Paul MINI
came to nv Office and filed homestead claim
to l60 acres OF land If she lives upon it and
cultivstes it five wears the government gives
it to her. Other lands can be bought from
the railroad company for from 81 to IS pei
| acre. lIsnUs tnHt nhNt wafer valuable
Twenty acres OF land in oranges, lemons figs
grapes or olives, when in bearing. will sup
port family. II in olives they will WELD ar
income of $4,000 yearly net, for pure olive oil
brings a good price. OF course it takes time
and money to put land in such fruits
but once when in bearing there is little mors
work done by the owner-he has enough tc
live on and he hires every thing done.
THE MOUNTAINS
| Are covered with sugar pine, the delight o
the Tomka lumbermen. and here | may ado
that nearly every lumberman in the county il
from the State of Maine. They are a thrift,
set of men aud soon become wealthy. Log
ging 10 done in the summer on trucks. Wher
the snow falls the mills are closed the cattle
driven 10 the valley and the laborers seek
work in the mines OF on farms.
But the green erase and grain. the awningi
covered with all kinds of beautiful flowers
the tree, laden with golden oranges, invite
me to lay aside pen and paper and take
ride. Twenty four years ago l spent New
Years day in Judge Libbev's Office studying
law, and listening to the cold winds filing
the air with frozen snow. the thermometer
ten degrees below zero. IL it az cold there
| tn davo